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Early Birds

    by Laurence Marks & Maurice Gran



Synopsis

Comedy Play Script: 'Early Birds' by Laurence Marks & Maurice Gran

‘Early Birds’ is a one-act comedy that chronicles the conception and birth of one of Britain’s most popular and enduring TV situation comedies.

Laurence Marks and Maurice Gran first met Linda Robson and Pauline Quirke when the girls became two mainstays of Marks and Gran’s hit TV drama, ‘Shine On Harvey Moon’. Linda and Pauline had brilliant rapport and impressive comedy instincts; Laurence and Maurice knew they had what it takes to star in their own show, but not what that show might be.

Four years later, Maurice took his family out for Christmas dinner and saw at the next table two overdressed women, who he thought looked like gangster’s molls. When he saw their husbands, he was almost convinced. The next time he saw Laurence, he recounted this intriguing sighting. Laurence immediately saw the comedy potential and replied: “Linda and Pauline”.

That’s where ‘Early Birds’ begins.

A fast-paced romp, ‘Early Birds’ takes the audience on a journey from the creation of the pilot script, via the battle with the BBC to find a studio, to the outrage generated by the sexually explicit dialogue, especially in the notorious sex-aids party scene – and all this in a pre-watershed show.

On the night of transmission there were so many complaints that ‘Birds of a Feather’ came under imminent threat of cancellation by a Board of Governors terrified of upsetting their TV licence payers. Then the first week’s viewing figures came to the rescue – topping 13 million. Suddenly, the Governors were wondering if there was any chance of a Christmas Special.

Premiered to critical acclaim at the Edinburgh Fringe in 2018, ‘Early Birds’ maps the bumpy road travelled by Laurence Marks and Maurice Gran as they turned three hard working actresses into national icons.

Duration

50 mins approx

Characters

(5m, 5f with doubling)

Principals (4m, 3f)

  • Laurence Marks – mid-30s, blond hair
  • Maurice Gran – mid-30s, dark haired, shorter than Laurence
  • Pauline – late 20s, plays the Sharon character (must double with Karen)
  • Linda – late 20s, plays the Tracey character (must double with Stacey)
  • Allan Mckeown - Laurence and Maurice’s business partner, a golfer
  • Gareth Gwenlan - BBC Head Of Comedy (doubles with Trix and Tailor)
  • Adrienne – any age, a BBC presenter (doubles with Barmaid; could be a male actor)

Support (with suggested doubling: 1m, 2f)

  • Karen (must double with Pauline)
  • Stacey (must double with Linda)
  • Darren – early 30s, tanned and healthy, wears sunglasses (doubles with Jonathan Powell and DG)
  • Trix – early 30s, pale and rather poorly (doubles with Tailor and Gareth Gwenlan)
  • Ms Timms – any age, Benefits Office employee (doubles with Secretary, but could be a male)
  • Flight Attendant – any age (doubles with Woman and Lesley)
  • Jonathan Powell – Controller BBC1 (doubles with Darren and Director General)
  • Lesley – late 30s, plays the Dorien character (doubles with Woman and Flight Attendant)
  • Director General – 50s (doubles with Darren and Jonathan Powell)
  • Secretary – 30s, the DG’s PA (doubles with Mrs Timms)
  • Tailor – maker of Allan’s bespoke suits (non-speaking)
  • Barmaid – any age (non-speaking, doubles with Adrienne)
  • Woman at Maurice’s Table (non-speaking, doubles with Flight Attendant and Lesley)

Doubling Summary (other permutations are possible)

Pauline / Karen
Linda / Stacey
Gareth / Trix / Tailor
Adrienne / Barmaid
Darren / Jonathan Powell / Director General
Woman / Flight Attendant / Lesley
Mrs Timms / Secretary


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